INSUR ANCE
Risky Business
Insurance and risk management best practices
R
By Tracy Barbour
isk management—the process of identifying, assessing, and prioritizing the different types of risk an organization might encounter—is essential to the success of any business. However, companies can employ various insurance products and prudent practices to minimize their exposure in the workplace. Generally, risk management involves avoiding or eliminating the vast number of events that could have an adverse impact on a business. The events could negatively affect everything from personnel safety and wellness to a company’s day-to-day
18 | July 2019
operations and overall financial perfor- come to work and be happy to be there. mance. More specifically, risk manage- I want it to be comfortable and a place ment entails identifying hazards (some- that they’re glad to come to every day.” thing with the potential to cause harm), assessing the associated risk (the likeliEmployees, an hood of that potential harm happening), Essential Element minimizing any risk deemed unaccept- Regardless of the industry or work enviable, and then controlling the situation to ronment, all businesses are exposed to mitigate any remaining hazards. varying levels of risk. And risk assessment To Jana Smith, the managing is an integral part of managing partner in Parker, Smith & Feek’s that exposure. While there are Anchorage office, risk manno set rules on conducting a agement is a culture that risk assessment, the process companies create from the often includes determining top down. “It’s overall propotential hazards, analyzing viding a safe environment for what could happen if a hazard your employees to grow and occurs, and defining effective have a positive experience in control measures. the workplace while at the While assessing risk is an same time achieve work-life important component of the Jana Smith balance,” says Smith, CPCU, risk management process, Managing Partner Parker, Smith & Feek ARM, CIC. “At the end of the businesses should start by listday, I want my employees to ing every potential risk, says Parker, Smith & Feek Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
